Adlai is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Adlai was the father of Shaphat, an official who served in the administration of King David. Scripture mentions Adlai only once, in a single genealogical identifier: his son is called “Shaphat the son of Adlai.” In the biblical text, Adlai himself performs no recorded action, speaks no recorded words, and receives no direct description beyond his relationship to his son. He is known entirely through the role his son filled.
The setting is David’s reign over Israel, near the close of the king’s life, when his kingdom was organized and prosperous. First Chronicles 27 lists the men who managed the king’s property and enterprises—fields, vineyards, olive trees, herds, camels, and donkeys. Within this list, Shaphat the son of Adlai was placed over the herds that grazed in the valleys, while Shitrai the Sharonite oversaw the herds that fed in Sharon. These were royal herds, part of the crown’s wealth, and the men appointed over them were trusted stewards of the king’s resources.
Adlai’s part in the account is indirect but real. He was the father of a man King David trusted with a portion of his livelihood. The text says nothing more of him—no tribe, no town, no deed of his own. What Scripture preserves of Adlai is simply this: he was the father of a faithful servant of the king. That is the whole of his witness in the King James Bible.
The Name
The name Adlai is a Hebrew name, but its meaning is not clearly recoverable from the biblical text or from established lexical sources. Various suggestions have been offered by scholars, yet none is firm enough to state with confidence, and Scripture itself gives no interpretation of the name. It is best to say plainly that the meaning of Adlai is uncertain rather than to assign it a definition the evidence does not support.
A Closing Thought
Adlai never steps into the spotlight. He is remembered only as the father of a man who served faithfully in the king’s fields. Yet that is no small thing. Much of the quiet strength of God’s kingdom rests on ordinary people who raise children to be trustworthy in small and unseen duties. Adlai’s son was entrusted with herds in the valleys—work no one would applaud—and he did it well. If you labor unnoticed, or if your legacy is simply the character you have passed on, take heart: God keeps a record, and faithfulness in the valleys is not forgotten.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 1 Chronicles 27:29 — And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai: